The Good & The Bad
by Roselie Parry
Summary: Carol's been on her own for a while, and she never thought she'd find herself a companion in a mute, scrawny teenager. Then just when it seems they've settled into a new normal, people from both their pasts seem to come from the woods around them. Will the groups learn to get along? or will everything fall apart, leaving nothing but chaos?
1. Mouse

**Chapter One**

The morning was peaceful, a few birds hopped along the leaf scattered street, and the slowly rising sun reflected off the windows in the abandoned houses on the other side of the street, causing the early morning mist to slowly dissipate.

Carol Peletier let out a content sigh, staring out at the empty subdivision, tea cup resting in her lap.

She had lucked out with the current place she was calling home, the people had clearly been well off, as well as highly paranoid, resulting in a house armed like Fort Knox, complete with a fully stocked cellar and solar powered generators.

' _I wonder what happened to them?'_

Taking a sip of the hot tea, Carol stood, staring down at the deserted road from the screened in balcony off the master bedroom, there was no one left here anymore, all the houses had been emptied a long time ago, the quietness of the small cluster of homes almost eerie.

She startled slightly when a soft noise sounded from inside, letting out a breath as she peered back into the still semi-darkened room, relaxing as she smiled softly at the blanket covered lump still in bed.

 _'At least I'm not completely alone...'_

"You finally waking up, Mouse?" Carol hummed as she made her way over, setting her cup on the nightstand before sitting, reaching out a hand to run her fingers through the bed mussed spikes of brown hair that peeked out from the mess of blankets.

The blankets moved slightly after a moment, large sleepy brown eyes blinking at her before she was answered with a yawn.

Carol laughed softly, staring at the teenager as he slowly scootched his way closer to her, "you really shouldn't stay in bed all day, sweetheart, you need to stretch that leg..."

She was answered by a noise that sounded more like a squeak then a whine, but the boy moved slowly to sit up, hands coming up to rub the sleep from his eyes, not protesting when the older woman reached over to lift the baggy t-shirt, checking the numerous bandages that covered his skinny torso.

"'You ever gonna talk to me, Mouse?"

The teen blinked at her, bruise under his left eye seeming darker in the dim day light, before he smiled and pecked her cheek and carefully wiggled himself out of bed, wincing slightly as he grabbed for the bedpost, Carol getting up quickly to help him limp towards the master bathroom.

Beside a select few, the ex-housewife hated people, especially these days, she had seen far more bad then good.

 _'Though i suppose if it weren't for the bad... I'd still be on my own...'_

Sighing, Carol waited until the bathroom door closed before she went to retrieve her tea off the nightstand, going to close the balcony door, redoing the three locks and making sure it was secure before she sat on the bed.

They had been together for just over a week now, the first few days had been rough, especially since the teen couldn't or wouldn't talk apart from the occasional squeak.

Which had resulted in her coming up with the name Mouse, it suited him with his big brown eyes and skinny physique.

Carol sipped her tea, _'still... it's nice to have some companionship, even if he doesn't utter a word.'_

Sipping her tea, she stared at the red backpack in the corner.

It was Mouse's, but she had never seen the contents apart from the sweater that occasionally made an appearance, and the small first aid kit, which she was fairly certain was empty by now.

She had had to use most of the contents as well as some she had found in the cellar to patch the battered teenager up when she had managed to find them a safe haven in the house.

That had been a bad few days, a lot of blood stained bandages and sleepless nights, holding the teenager when he would wake up from a nightmare.

Last night had been the first night of Mouse having a full nights sleep, though he had clung to her like a baby most of the night.

But it was definitely progress, and that's what mattered.

Letting out a sigh and finishing her tea, Carol stretched before standing, waiting for the bathroom door to open then walking over to the slightly wobbly teen, eyeing the makeshift splint she had put together for his broken leg before helping him towards the bedroom door.

"Feeling any better today?"

The teen nodded a bit, clutching onto the woman's hand tightly as they shuffled along, pausing when they got to the stairs, staring at them almost skeptically.

Carol laughed slightly, "you know they're just stairs... we take them one at time, every morning and every night..."

Mouse nodded, waiting until Carol stepped down so they could start the slow process to the main floor, letting out a breath and grinning at the older woman when they reached the bottom.

"You know it's only been a few days, but i think we're getting the hang of it..." Carol hummed, leading him into the dining room, letting him sit before she went to the kitchen, "what should we have for breakfast?"

Carol smiled over at the teen at the small table, who was staring at her, head slightly tilted, giving her a look, "oatmeal?"

The boy grinned, giving thumbs up with his non-bandaged hand.

Laughing, Carol headed to the pantry.

"Oatmeal it is."

~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~


	2. The Baiters

**Chapter 2**

-Two weeks earlier-

 _The dark clouds were gradually beginning to thin when Carol emerged from the broken down car she had spent the night in._

 _It had already been over a week since she had said goodbye to Rick on the side of the road and began the journey of fending for herself, which she hated to admit was lonelier then she had originally thought._

 _Stretching, Carol looked around, reaching into her backpack for her bottle of water, taking a moment to eye both directions of the mostly empty street before pulling the pack back on and heading off in a random direction, senses on high alert for any signs of Walkers._

 _She made her way around abandoned vehicles, glancing in the occasional one to check for any possible supplies she could add to the slowly shrinking collection in her bag._

 _Sighing, the short haired woman eyed the distant clouds, hoping that they kept moving away, and she wouldn't have to deal with another surprise downpour._

 _Carol jumped slightly at the sound of a distant scream, looking towards it, hand moving instinctively to the knife on her hip._

"what was that? A child?" _Carol swallowed, finding herself slowly moving towards the noise, breaking into a run when a scream sounded again._

 _She slowed down, eyeing the situation in front of her quietly, heart racing ever so slightly._

 _A little girl had managed to pull herself up into the lower branches of a tree, and a rather ragged looking walker stood below her, baring its yellowed and blackened teeth as it reached up towards her, hands missing most of its fingers._

 _Carol undid the sheath on her knife quietly, moving forward as silently as possible, the child shrieking again as the Walkers fingers inched closer to a dirty pink sandal._

 _Holding a finger to her lips when the small girl finally noticed her approaching, Carol moved quickly, just as the walking corpse turned towards her, managing to land her recently sharpened blade near the top of it's forehead with a solid thunk._

 _She let the body fall carefully before pulling the knife out, wiping it on the dead walkers shirt before putting the knife away and walking over to the tree where the child still sat, staring down at her wide-eyed._

 _It took Carol a moment to muster a warm smile, using a mothering tone as she spoke, 'hey sweetie... you okay? Do you need help down?"_

 _The child nodded shyly after a moment, slowly stretching her arms down, letting the woman pull her down from the tree, setting her on her feet before crouching down so they were face to face, "are you hurt anywhere?"_

 _Again the girl shook her head, sniffling slightly before wiping at her eyes and hugging Carol around the neck, "thank you, lady."_

 _Carol hugged the child back gently before tensing when twigs near them snapped, hand returning to her knife as she tucked the child in closer, turning her focus to the sudden noise._

 _Three people had moved forward, one wielding a knife and scowling, the other two looking simply looking nervous._

 _The little girl smiled, releasing Carol and hurried over to them, letting the young woman pick her up, "mommy! There was a monster but the lady killed it and saved me!"_

 _The trio eyed her, the tension hardly ebbing when the older man with the knife spoke, "you killed it?" his eyes travelled to the sprawled walker on the ground._

 _Carol nodded, "i did. What else do you think i would do when it's a child involved?"_

 _The small group exchanged look, the woman holding onto the child tightly, "well, there's a lot of people who would of ignored it I'm sure... but thank you, for saving my baby."_

 _Again Carol nodded, smiling slightly, "it wasn't a problem... I'm just glad she had people near by to look after her."_

 _There was a somewhat awkward moment when they all stood quietly, then the man tucked the knife away and sighed, "alright... well, 'least we can do is offer you a meal... for saving the troublemaker here." he gave the child a look._

 _Carol hesitated, she didn't know these people... but she also hadn't eaten in over a day, and if they had children in the group, they couldn't possibly be that bad, could they?_

 _She nodded, "a meal sounds nice..."_

 _The man nodded, motioning for the others to go ahead, then walked beside Carol, heading back into the woods the way they came, "name's Matt..."_

 _Carol glanced at him, ducking under a low branch, "Carol."_

" _Pleasure to meet you, Carol... welcome to the camp."_

 _It wasn't much of a camp really, three tents, a fire pit, and familiar lines of cans on string the encircled the majority of the camp, a small pile of packs and bags sat to one side, which, for some reason, gave the older woman a slightly uneasy feeling._

 _There turned out to be two other children in the camp, as well as five other adults, making the group bigger then Carol originally thought, and the man who seemed to be the leader made introductions to everyone, but she didn't really pay attention._

 _The meal wasn't terrible, bland rabbit and some fruit, and having company was nice, everyone making idle chit-chat, and before Carol realized it, the fire had been lit and the moon was out._

" _you're welcome to stay the night," Matt sat beside her on a log, blinking at her, "i can give you a blanket... ain't comfortable letting you in a tent though, as i don't really know you. But the biters shouldn't be an issue..."_

 _Carol was going to decline, but it was almost dark and the fire was warm, so she found herself nodding, "thank you."_

 _It wasn't long before she found herself alone by a dying fire, wrapped in a slightly scratchy blanket, watching the smaller flames flicker, finding her eyes drifting over to the pile of bags, the red backpack near the bottom catching the focus more then the others._

'there's way more bags then people... are they stolen? Or the bags of the dead?" _Carol shifted and stood slightly, walking over to the pile._

 _Surely they wouldn't miss one pack?_

 _Carol quietly gathered her things, then snagged the red pack before quietly exiting, glad for the full moon and the clear night sky._

 _She made her way quietly back towards the main road, pausing when a noise to her left caught her attention, jumping slightly at the sight of two mostly eaten corpses tied up in a tree._

 _Swallowing and sucking in a breath, Carol glanced around before slowly moving forward, eyeing both bodies, as realization hit, '_ they were bait.'

 _Of course walkers wouldnt be a problem if there were easier pray to catch, and by the look of the older rope in the trees, these weren't the first ones..._

 _Carol shuddered, '_ explains the extra bags...'

 _A noise to her right had the woman whipping around, hand going to her gun this time, breath catching in her throat when she realized it wasn't a walker._

 _It was a kid._

 _Carol found herself moving forward quickly, setting her bags down and grabbing her knife._

 _Well, not a kid, a teenager, recently beaten and strung up tight by his wrists, shirt a tattered mess, just like his left pantleg._

 _Their eyes met briefly, large hazy brown orbs blinking at her as a weak sounding noise escaped his bruise throat, hands twisting feebly in their binds._

 _'_ How long as he been up here?' _Carol looked around quickly for something to use for leverage to get him down, but finding nothing, she resorted for checking his injuries quickly, the main issue being his broken leg._

 _Biting her lip for a moment, the woman settled for taking her handkerchief from her pocket, shoving it in his mouth for a make-shift gag, "you gotta try to land on your right leg... then I'm gonna get you out of here..."_

 _She hoped he could hear her, she also had a moment of wondering why she was doing this, a broken leg was almost certain death these days._

 _Another, now muffled, whimper had her snapping out of her thoughts and pulling herself up the tree, high enough to cut the rope off the branch, cringing when the teen fell, cry almost completely muffled when he hit the ground, Carol following quickly, hand covering his mouth reflexively, looking around and listening for any signs of the nearby group waking._

 _'_ They really think keeping people strung up as bait will keep them safe?"

 _Carol blinked when the boy moved, reaching for the red bag with one hand, not even bothering to take the handkerchief out of his mouth, breathing in hard gasps._

 _Reaching down, Carol pulled the gag out, then grabbed the bag, expression softening slightly when the teen pulled the bag weakly to his chest, "is this one yours?"_

 _The teen didn't speak, just wheezed and nodded, looking at her with a slightly pleading expression._

 _Carol stood, taking the red pack back, putting it on her own back before helping the teen up carefully, voice a whisper, "we need to move... they could wake up at any moment."_

 _The two stared at each other for a moment, before the boy nodded, and after making sure she had his arm secure around her shoulders, they duo made their way to the road, both sighing as they reached the smoother ground._

 _Glancing in both directions, and trying to listen for any other noises beside the teens wheezy breathes, Carol resumed the direction she had been going._

 _Eventually they would need to find somewhere she could properly check the teens wounds and splint his leg._

 _But for now, Carol hoped they'd simply be able to put enough distance between themselves and the Baiters before the sun came up._


	3. Quiet Time

**Chapter Three**

Carol stretched from her spot on the couch, smiling softly down at the napping teen who's head currently occupied her lap.

It was almost three in the afternoon, the morning having been quiet apart from Mouse whining when Carol had insisted on giving his shaggy brown hair a much needed trim.

Now he was asleep, hair looking much better now that it was trimmed, and Carol was content with sitting and reading a book, the small battery operated radio on low, sitting on the end table behind her.

She was glad they had been able to find their current home a week ago, as living in a small garden shed with a rickety garage door and a tiny window hadn't been fun.

Carol closed her book, resting her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes, letting her free hand rest on the teens chest, relaxing at the feel of it rising and falling under her palm.

The shed had been musty and cramped, though luckily it had been fairly empty, most things were boxed and pushed into the back, and a small loft overhead had become a makeshift bed for Mouse, Carol having felt safer having the injured boy up higher in case any one attempted to break in.

They had spent two nights in that shed, neither of them going out apart from bathroom breaks.

And apart from one walker, which Carol had been able to make quick work of, they hadn't run into any problems.

Mouse had slept most of the time, and the she had learned pretty quick that a conversation with him wasn't likely, but at least she had someone to talk at... He was a good listener at least.

But the grimy shed was in the past now, and the house they had might be dusty, but Carol would take that over dark and cramped any day.

Carol opened her eyes at the faint sound of noise outside, hand quickly dropping her book and moving to click off the radio, sitting still and listening.

The sheers on the windows were drawn still, and the porch on their current side of the house was screened, adding extra privacy, but if someone came close and actually looked in the window, they would be seen for sure.

Once again faint noises sounded outside, and the woman tensed, glancing down when a hand grabbed hers, Mouse's eyes wide as he stared up at her, his uneasiness clear on his face.

Pressing a finger to her lips, Carol slipped out from under the teens head and stood, grabbing the rifle on the other side of the end table and moved silently to the side of the window.

Carol cursed quietly under her breath.

Walkers, a whole herd of them.

Glancing back at the teen who now sat up on the couch, worry etched on his face, the older woman smiled softly, setting down the rifle and pulling the black out curtains over quietly, reaching up after to pull down the security blind, the room darkening quickly.

Carol moved through the lower level of the house quickly, pulling curtains on all the windows, and making sure both the doors had their locks secured.

Hearing the faint whimper from the living room, she grabbed the blanket from the couch in the den and hurried back, finding the teen attempting to get up, clearly panicking over her actions.

"It's alright Mouse... I'm here."

She paused briefly enough to grab the candles off the table by the door and returned to the living room, and to the boy who was now standing looking rather wobbly by the couch.

Carol lit the three wicked candle, allowing it a moment to brighten before setting it on the floor, sitting near it and stretching out her legs, and unfolding the blanket, keeping her voice quiet, "c'mere... s'just walkers, they can't get in here. We're alright."

Mouse swallowed, glancing towards the now covered window nervously, before nodding and sitting, wincing for a moment, before shuffling back and stretching out, letting the older woman wrap the blanket around him.

"There... that's better, hm?"

Carol gave the teen a reassuring smile when he twisted his head to blink up at her.

The large group of walkers outside certainly put a damper on what Carol had hoped to be a good day, and even after the main group was gone there were sure to be stragglers, so getting Mouse outside would be unlikely, as his nerves were still shot from his time with The Baiters.

Sighing, she gave the tense boy a squeeze then reached for her book, hoping the candles would give her enough light to read by.

Relaxing against the couch Carol let out a soft hum, ' _I guess there's nothing wrong with some quiet time...'_

And with any luck, Mouse would be able to relax enough to return to his nap.

~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~

 **Just a quick story update :D sorry it's not longer... Works been... well, work... Hope you all enjoy!**

 **~RP**


	4. Unexpected Visitors

**Chapter 4**

"C'mon Mouse... It's lovely out."

The teenager stood in the back door, eyeing the fenced in stretch of yard almost skeptically, hand gripping the cane Carol had rummaged out of the basement.

They had spent all of yesterday cooped inside due to the large group of walkers that wandered around the small suburb, and by the time it had thinned the sun had started to set and Carol had decided it best for them to just stay in.

Now she stood outside, stretching and grinning, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin, turning again to look at the frowning boy behind her, "nothing back here but you, me and the honeybees, sweetie..."

That earned her a small smile, and Mouse finally made his way onto the stone patio, limping barefoot to the lawn, letting out a soft hum when he was able to wiggle his toes into the overgrown grass.

Carol made her way over, smiling and reaching up a hand to ruffle his hair, "see, not so scary."

She was glad their new place had a heavy duty fence, it made going in and out a bit difficult, as there was no one to open the gate on the outside, she had had to resort to moving a large piece of wood, and pulling herself up and over, then opening the gate from the inside for Mouse, who had been far more nervous and unstable back then.

After that, she had moved the chunk of stump away from the fence again and had mouse reopen the gate for her.

And now, for the meantime at least, they had a safe place to stay.

Carol laughed slightly when the teen nudged her, grinning before he stepped back onto the patio and sat himself in one of the slightly weathered looking chairs.

"Well, I think that's more standing then you've done since we got here..."

The older woman smirked and sat herself on the ground, laughing slightly at the look Mouse was currently giving her.

"It's not my fault you've been lazing around these past few days..."

Mouse simply snorted, slouching slightly and yawning, eyes closing.

Sighing, Carol stretched herself out on the grass, watching the large white clouds move slowly across the sky, stifling her own yawn with her arm.

It had been a long morning, she had gotten up early to go outside and take care of the few remaining walkers hanging around outside in the street and near the surrounding houses.

The last she she wanted was for them to start ganging up at their door or the fence.

Then she had come in, had a shower, made coffee and then gone upstairs to check on Mouse, who had ended up sleeping in until noon.

' _At least it gave me time to finish my book.'_

Carol glanced at the boy now asleep in the deck chair, head propped in his hand, smiling slightly before closing her own eyes.

A nap would be nice.

The sound of distant talking from the front of the house had the woman's eyes snapping open, eyes moving towards the corner of the house.

From their current spots, and with the added height of the fence she knew they couldn't be seen, but the thought of unknown people outside put her on edge.

She got up quietly, glancing at the sleeping teen, then went inside, moving to the front of the house, crouching down and peering out the corner of the living room window at the street.

Carol froze, staring at the figures on the other side of the screened porch, the small group having stopped to clearly discuss what to do.

' _What are they doing here? They shouldn't be here...'_

She moved quietly, moving to the other window by the door, hand pausing over the first lock.

They were out there, the ones she was made to leave behind at the prison.

Swallowing she slowly undid the first lock, taking a breath.

They would be glad to see her, wouldn't they?

Carol looked back out the window, at a rather ragged looking Rick, who stood talking to Glenn and Michonne, while Carl stood nearby with Maggie.

Her eyes moved quickly when she saw movement on the porch across the street, watching Daryl come down the steps, crossbow in hand, saying something she couldn't quite hear.

Undoing another lock, She glanced towards the backyard, just able to see Mouse's legs.

He wouldn't like it if she suddenly brought a bunch of unknown people into the house.

Taking the breath, Carol quickly undid the other two locks, opening the door just enough to slide herself out, standing on the porch a moment simply watching the small group on the road.

She made her way down the steps silently, moving slowly, suddenly feeling nervous.

But just when she had decided to retreat to the house, Carl spotted her, eyes widening, a smile slowly spreading across the child's face.

"Carol!"

All heads turned towards her, and she stopped, simply standing at the end of the walkway.

She found herself laughing by the time they reached her, Daryl in the lead, crossbow dropping to the ground before he hugged her tightly, Carol wrapping her arms around his neck, glad that she had braced herself in time so they hadn't tumbled to the ground.

She returned the hug gladly, burying her face in the mans shoulder, fighting the lump in her throat to get any words out, "what are you doing here?"

Daryl stepped back slightly, staring at her, mouth opening and closing silently.

"Some uh... some real bad stuff happened after you left," It was Glenn who spoke, glancing at the ground, then back to her, "we lost a lot of people... got separated from the others..."

Carol swallowed, nodding, keeping an arm around Daryl, "I'm sorry..."

Daryl stared at her, "nothing you could of done..."

They were all quiet, Carol giving Rick a faint smile which she was was somewhat relieved when he returned it.

"Is this where you're staying?"

Carol blinked at Carl for a moment, then at the house, "yeah... for the time being anyway."

Rick eyed the house for a moment, shifting his weight slightly, voice raspy, "got room for a few more? For the night at least..."

The woman bit her lip, hesitating, aware that they were all now staring at her.

She couldn't say no, they were practically family, and Rick looked about ready to fall over.

"I just... i need to discuss it with my friend, first..."

Numerous pairs of eyes blinked at her, Maggie smiled a bit, "you found someone, did yah?"

Carol nodded, "yeah... he's a sweet kid, doesn't talk much... but he's good company. However he's not good with people, so i don't wanna just spring all of you on him suddenly."

The group nodded.

Taking a breath, she moved away from Daryl, leaving the group and headed back inside, closing the door quietly.

She paused at the sight of the wide eyed teen currently standing by the living room window.

This was going to be fun to explain.

 **~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~**


	5. Hot Water

**Chapter 5**

They both stood quietly, Mouse looking from her to the window and back, eyes still wide, mouth opening and closing, nothing more than the usual squeak escaping.

"It'll be alright, i know them." Carol took a small step forward, wetting her lips, "Most of them have been with me since all of this happened..."

The teen just moved away from the window, eyeing her, then just moved for the stairs.

Carol watched him, giving him space, "they wont stay long, just a few days... i promise"

Mouse hobbled up a few stairs, pausing too look back at her, raising a hand to wiggle his pinkie at her.

Laughing softly, the older woman made her way to the staircase, reaching out a hand to hook pinkies with him, "pinkie-promise, kiddo... Just a few days."

With another nod, Mouse made his way up to the bedrooms, one step at a time.

Carol waited until she heard the master-bedroom door close, the took a breath and went back outside, where the group still waited, talking quietly to each other, Rick shifting his weight as he stepped a little closer, "well? How'd it go with your friend?"

"He reacted how I expected honestly... He'll probably just stay up in his room while you're here," sighing, Carol rubbed her neck, "I can give you all a few nights, and some food and a shower... That's the best i can do, unless Mouse changes his mind, I don't want to stress him out more than necessary.

The group before her nodded, Maggie hummed, "of course," she took Glenn's hand, "and if, Mouse, was it? If he wants to say hi, then we'll be sure to be our usual sweet selves."

A small laugh went through the group, followed by Darryl raising a brow in Carol's direction, "What sort of name is, Mouse? S'that the name his parents gave him?"

Carol shook her head, "nah, it's the name i gave him. When i found him he was in rough shape, could barely walk on his own, terrified of every noise..." Blinking at the scruffy looking man beside her, she smiled a bit, "but he squeaks occasionally... so Mouse stuck."

Darryl chuckled, "alright, makes sense..."

Carl blinked up at her, adjusting his backpack, "can we go in now? I feel like we've been walking forever..." he grinned, earning a hand on his head from his father, who shifted his weight again, "plus I think dad needs to sit down."

The older woman nodded, smiling softly, "alright, lets get inside."

She grinned slightly when Darryl whistled in an appreciative tone when they went in, Michonne closing the door behind her when everyone was in, "lock it?"

Carol nodded, "yes please, i rarely unlock that door."

Michonne nodded, doing the numerous locks, and followed the group into the main living room.

Rubbing her neck, Carol looked around the raggedy group now standing in her living room, "so uh... This place is nicely set up, the previous owners must of been preparing for this situation for a while." She moved to the kitchen, "we have food, and we have our own solar-panel system and propane set up..."

Maggie stared, "are you saying you have hot water?"

Carol laughed, "we have hot water. So, you can all shower, but you have five minutes each, as i don't know long these systems will last."

Humming, the older woman looked at the clearly excited young lady in front of her, "bathroom is at the top of the stairs on the right, five minutes. Stay out of the master-bedroom, that goes for all of you."

Maggie just smiled, grabbing her husbands hand and heading for the stairs, Glenn laughing as he followed along behind her.

Rick sat at the table, letting out a relived sigh, "it really is good to see you, Carol, I've been worried."

Carol sat in her usual chair, settling back, "I'll admit I had a few darker days... But for the most part I've been going pretty strong, even better since Mouse came into the picture."

The others joined them at the table, Michonne staring at her for a moment, "how did you two meet?

After a moment the short haired woman stared back, taking a moment before she spoke, "came across a nice looking group a few weeks back... not large, but it felt safe enough, they even had kids with them..."

Rick stared at her, "was Mouse one of them?"

Shaking her head, Carol shifted her gaze to the bearded man, "no... They uh..." she paused, running a hand down her face, "found out my first night they used people as walker bait. Strung them up in tree's to be eaten alive.

She watched as the groups expressions changed, none seeming pleased.

Darryl spoke first, tone sharp, "yer saying he was tied up as walker chow?"

Carol nodded, "yeah... They broke his leg... fractured bones, cut up everywhere, his throat looked so bad i was surprised he was still breathing," she paused to take a breath, blinking quickly and looking at Michonne's hand now covering hers.

"Well I'm sure he's grateful for you arriving when you did."

Managing a small smile, she nodded, "I hope so."

The group looked up when Glenn and Maggie returned, the young woman looking far more relaxed, hair clinging wetly to her face, "Lord, i almost forgot how amazing hot water is."

Carol smiled, then looked around the table, "who's next?"

Rick smiled a bit, reaching out a hand to take the battered sheriffs hat off his sons head, "you're up, Carl, go get washed up."

The boy blinked, the nodded, getting up and hurrying off, everyone watching him go.

"So are you guys gonna fill me in on what happened at the prison?" Everyone turned to look at Carol, eyes averting to the walls or table, the unease in the room growing, "or you could tell me later..."

Glenn blinked, glancing at her, "Later?"

Carol nodded, getting up, "alright... later then. But im gonna hold all of you to it." She walked to the fridge, pulling out a large bottle of apple juice, as well as a smaller bottle of orange juice, walking back to set the large bottle on the table, "glasses are in the cabinet. I'm gonna run this up to the sulking teenager in the bedroom."

The group nodded, Michonne getting up to rummage for glasses.

She watched for a quick moment, smiling softly, then headed upstairs, pausing briefly to listen to the faint conversation starting in the dining room.

It was nice to hear people again, especially when it was people she loved.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she listened for a moment to the shower running, then walked down the hall to the master-bedroom, pausing to knock before opening the door slightly and peeking in, "Mouse?"

She found herself smiling at the already snoozing lump in the middle of the bed, walking over to set down the bottle on the nightstand, brushing the teens hair back and kissing his forehead.

" _It's barely been twenty minutes and you fell asleep this fast? Maybe i'll be able to get you to come down in time for supper, tonight."_

Still smiling, Carol fixed the blankets and headed back out of the room, door closing quietly behind her."

~ **~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~~**


	6. Weird Dreams

**Chapter 6**

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Mouse... Mouse, say hello."

Carol stood in her pajamas in the living room entryway, the teen standing half behind her, holding her hand tightly, eyes darting up to the group lazing around the room, then back to the floor.

It had been four days since the group had arrived, and the older woman had finally had enough of the teens hiding away in their room upstairs.

Maggie got up from her spot on the couch curled up beside her husband Glenn, smiling warmly and walking over, holding out her hand to the nervous boy who shifted slightly closer to carol, "Hey there... I'm Maggie, s'nice to meet you.

There was a moment of quiet, Mouse's eyes darting to the offered hand, then to Carol, and back again, before he slowly reached out and took the young womans hand, smiling faintly as he nodded.

"See, i don't bite..." Maggie grinned, giving the teens hand a squeeze, "and for the record, neither does Glenn."

Glenn gave a wave from the couch, leaning over, elbows on his knees, "not unless i got too..."

That finally earned them more of a smile, even a noise that could be considered a laugh.

Carol smiled, "see darlin', i told you they'd like you..."

Mouse looked at her, ears going slightly pink, hand re-tightening around hers again.

The two shuffled further into the room, Carol letting the teen lean on her in place of his usual cane, Maggie returning to the couch with a smile.

"This is Michonne... and the tough guy in the chair is Darryl."

Michonne flashed a smile before covering a yawn, and Darryl simply nodded, "nice of you to finally come say hi..."

Carol sighed, "be nice, Pooky."

The teen shifted closer to Carol again, unease clearly rising, eyes flicking to the floor briefly.

"I'm Carl!"

Both of them looked up at the kid as he spoke, fixing the sheriffs hat on his head and smiling at them from his spot on the love-seat next to Michonne, "my dad's still sleeping upstairs... but I'm sure he'll be pleased to meet you too."

Mouse blinked at him, head tilting a bit, hand slowly raising to point to the hat.

The boys hands moved up to touch it, grinning, "it's my dads..."

Carol looked at the teen beside her, who was currently making the face he did when he was trying to figure out how to communicate something, "what is it?"

The teen looked at her, then Carl, eyes moving to the hat, motioning to it briefly before tapping at his own chest.

"You like it?"

That earned her a look, and Mouse repeated his hand motions.

"Is your dad a police officer too?"

Mouse turned to look at Carl, smiling, and nodding.

The boy smiled back, "my dad was the sheriffs-deputy of a small town..."

Mouse motioned, letting out a slight squeak, motioning to Carl, then to himself once more.

Carol hummed, smiling happily at the teenagers enthusiasm, still content with holding one of his hands which kept a grip on hers, "is your dad a sheriffs-deputy too?"

Looking at her, Mouse shook his head, pointing up with his free hand.

"He's a sheriff?"

Mouse nodded, smiling at her, then Carl, and back, giving the older woman's hand a squeeze.

Carl smiled, "that's awesome! Maybe they know each other! What's his name? I can ask my dad..."

Carol watched as the teens face changed, smile fading slightly as he let out another strangled sounding rasp, smile fading more until he looked rather upset, entire frame sagging.

"What's wrong?" Carls head tilted a bit, looking at Maggie as he sat back down, "did i say something wrong?"

"Nah darlin', it's alright..." Maggie rubbed the boys back a bit, "just a bit hard on people to be apart from loved ones..."

Carol looked over at them briefly, keeping Mouse close, then turned back to the teen, brushing his hair back softly, "I'm sure he's fine sweetie, you're dad and everyone with him, they're all tough, right? That's what you were telling me..."

Mouse took a shaky breath, blinking a few times, then nodded, smiling faintly.

The woman smiled, kissing the teenagers head, before looking at everyone else, "does anyone want breakfast?"

Glenn looked at her, "actually we already ate... You don't gotta cook for us all the time."

Carol blinked at him, then nodded, "alright then... just breakfast for two then."

She headed off to the kitchen, leaving the teen standing there, eyes darting again, before slowly limping to the couch, sitting on the opposite end of Maggie and Glenn.

The group sat quietly, Mouse fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, occasionally glancing around the people around him.

"I had a weird dream last night."

It was Carl who finally broke the silence, looking around, eyes settling on Michonne beside him.

"You did? What about?" the woman raised a brow at him, seeming a little bit amused by the boys sudden statement.

"Yeah... well, i think it was a dream..."

Glenn laughed slightly, "You mean you don't know if you were awake or not?"

The boy frowned at him, "well, I think it had to be a dream..."

Everyone was looking at him now, Darryl stretching and leaning forward, elbows on his knees, "why? What was so crazy 'bout it?"

Carl stared at him, then slouched back into the loveseat, "well, I was standing by the window in me and dads room, and i was looking at the street..."

"Nothing weird about that," Maggie hummed, "It was a nice night last night... So what makes it weird?"

"Well, This huge black dog came out of the woods..."

Mouse straightened up, head tilting slightly, staring at the kid across from him, Glenn grinned at him, "you like dogs, Mouse?"

The teen glanced at him briefly, flashing a quick smile, then looked back at Carl.

"Anyway..." Carl continued, staring back at Mouse, "I thought I was awake until it got weird..."

"And how did it get weird?" 

Carol had come from the kitchen, handing the teen on the couch a mug of coffee, before throwing a dish towel over her shoulder as she sat on the chairs armrest beside Darryl.

Carl blinked at her.

"It turned into a man."

 **~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~**


	7. The Mask

**Chapter Seven**

The morning crept by quietly, everyone sitting around rather awkwardly after Carl's announcement.

It was made even more awkward when Rick emerged before noon and came downstairs, exchanging slightly awkward hello's with Mouse, followed by Glenn blurting out about Carl's dream.

"Sounds like you need to not eat so close to bedtime..." Rick half smiled at the boy slouched on the couch, "told you before it'd give you funny dreams."

"But what if it wasn't a dream? I mean... No one thought zombies we're real..." Carl frowned at his father, crossing his arms.

Darryl laughed, "you saying you think we got a wolf-man prowlin' about out there?"

Carl's mouth opened and closed, "maybe? I dunno... I just really don't think I was dreaming, it felt real."

Maggie hummed, reaching over a hand to straighten the kids bangs, "well sometimes dreams just feel that way, sweetie."

"But if you see it again," Rick spoke up, making everyone look back to him, "just wake me up, alright? If there's something out there we'll deal with it..."

Carl nodded, "Fine, I'll..."

He cut off when Mouse abruptly stood, wobbling slightly before he limped out, heading back up the stairs.

"Mouse?" Carol paused, setting Ricks coffee quickly on the table, "Sweetheart?"

She glanced around at everyone quickly, being met with puzzled looks and shrugs, before hurrying towards the stairs, taking them two at a time, hearing the bedroom door close before she reached the top step.

"Mouse, what's wrong?" Carol knocked lightly on the door before opening the door, peering in, staring the the teen who was face planted into the pillows.

Sighing, she walked in, sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching a hand out to rub his back, "you know," she kept her tone soft, "it's not nice to just storm off like that..."

There was a moments pause before Mouse turned his head, peeking out at her, a slight squeak escaping out of his throat.

"You wanna try and tell me what's wrong?"

The teen pushed himself up on his elbows, wincing slightly as he rolled himself, Carol reaching out to help him sit up proper.

Mouse opened and closed his mouth a few times, hands rubbing together, looking around the room a moment.

"Did you wanna try writing again?" Carol stared at him, shifting to get up, stopping when the teen grabbed her hand, shaking his head quickly.

They had tried writing before, starting the day after they settled into the house, but Mouse's hand had been too shaky, and it seemed to give him a headache, so Carol had only tried a few more times after that before giving up and naming him herself.

Sighing, the woman settled back down, "so? What's going on?"

Mouse let out an overly loud, slightly raspy sounding sigh, hand motions starting, waving them around vaguely, Carol quickly finding it rather hard to follow.

"Short... person? You mean Carl?"

The teen nodded.

"Is this about that dream he was goin' on about?"

Another nod, then he shook his head, scowling, hands waving again towards his head and face, then to the pillow, then another head shake.

"Mouse... slow down darlin'..."

That earned her another sigh, then he repeated the motions more slowly.

Carol blinked, slowly thinking the motions over, speaking slowly in case the teen wanted to interject, "are you saying it wasn't a dream?"

This time she got a nod, Mouse moving slowly off the bed, biting his lip as he stood, Carol reflexively reaching out to steady him.

She watched as he limped across the room, straightening up when he reached for his backpack where it had sat untouched for weeks.

He made his way back slowly, seeming to hesitate before he sat back down on the bed, unzipping the bag enough to peek in, rummaging for a moment before removing a metal wolf mask, holding it in his hands for a moment, eyes locked on it before they slowly lifted to look at her, pausing before he offered the mask to her.

Carol took it gently, turning it over in her hands carefully.

It was clearly hand made, the hammer dents obvious in certain spots, the leather straps that would hold it to the wearers face seeming worn from months of use.

"Someone in your group made you this?"

Mouse nodded, eyes flicking from her to the mask, and then back, hands motioning again, repeating them a few times, clearly wanting to ensure that the older woman got what he was trying to say.

"Did they make you this... to fit in?"

The teen nodded more quickly.

"So..." Carol shifted around a bit, handing back the mask, "can you turn into a wolf then?"

Mouse's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly shook his head, motioning to the mask.

"So you can't, so they gave you that?" She waited until he nodded again, "what are they? Your friends.."

The teen gave her a clear look of _'isn't it obvious?'_

Carol laughed slightly, "um... I'm sorry honey, I'm drawing a blank."

There was a moments pause, Mouse seemed to be thinking it over, then he simply pointed to the mask, then himself, and back.

"What? Wolf..." Carol followed the motioning hand, "You? Person?"

Mouse huffed, motioning again.

The woman stared at him, thinking before it clicked in her head, "Wolf men... They're were-wolves?"

Mouse suddenly broke out in a smile and nodded, running his hands over the cool metal of the mask, then looked at her, giving another nod.

Carol stared at the beaming teen, not totally sure what to think, _'I suppose though... if the dead can walk... then who knows what else is out there...'_

"Are they... nice?"

She finally broke the silence, Mouse's attention snapping back to her, blinking before he nodded, hands coming up, fingers forming a heart.

Carol laughed slightly, "they're lovely I take it?"

Mouse grinned and nodded, slowly laying down, head on her lap, holding the mask on his chest, letting out a content sigh when Carol ran her fingers through his hair, making another heart with his fingers, then pointing to her, eyes closing.

The older woman hummed, feeling herself relax despite all the questions that ran through her mind, knowing they'd have to wait until after the now dozing teens nap.

"I love you too, Mouse."

 **~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~WD~TW~**


End file.
